Sell it by the set on eBay, or the piece? The Lenox Rutledge p 303 fine china problem

There is often the problem of whether or not to sell a set of fine china or glassware by the set, or by the piece. BE (Before eBay) that problem was pretty much a no-brainer because proportionally speaking, sets were always worth more.

But eBay has been a game changer here. The reason is because eBay has such a volume of people buying and selling that it can be very lucrative to sell "by the piece." There may be so many people looking to complete a set of a popular pattern, that someone will pay top price or even better for that rare butter dish, or one dinner plate they need to round off a service for six.

Replacements.com a china matching service, has built a business around this theory. Now if you go to replacements.com to price a 16" oval platter for the Rutledge p-303 1952 vintage Lenox china, you'll find that the platter is about $400!

At the time of this post, I am selling this ENTIRE SET with a starting bid of $399.

See my eBay auctions.

You're probably thinking, "wait a minute, can't you do basic math?" By this logic, the set would retail for well over $2,000. So why would I want to group the set and start the bidding at $399?

I do this for the same reasons that, I as an auctioneer would lot up anything that can be sold individually, these reasons are:

• To save time and labor
• To generate return wholesale customers
• To generate buzz about the other items I have up for auction
• To make cash flow more liquid
• To free up floor space

I don't want to get the last buck, I'm after the fast buck. All of those reasons and more, are why it pays to do business with an auctioneer. By the sheer volume of merchandise they handle, they have to sell fast, so they are a great perpetual resource of merchandise at prices you can afford to buy and re-sell.

Why would you want an auctioneer to sell anything for you if this is true?

• Because if you're item(s) is rare, the best way to get top dollar (fast) is through competitive bidding. Notice I indicated fast. If you want to wait to get retail for your items, then an auction is NOT the way to go. But good luck with that, you can have an item for months or even years, and never find a retail buyer.
• Auctioneers will sell it all. If you have an estate that's good enough, an auctioneer will have his crew clean out the property, taking all the low end items and dispose of the garbage. In short, they'll make all your problems go away. The key here, is that the good items in the collection, have to be strong enough to carry the expense of the junk. But few are more efficient at maximizing profit on these situations than auctioneers.
• You'll get paid fast. Again, if you use a consignment shop or other venue to sell your items, you could wait forever to get paid.
• You'll make connections. If you want to do further business in the genre of items which you're consigning to the auction house, all the action is at the auction hall.